Yesterday, JP ran a 15:15 at NXR in Cary, NC, finished in 9th place overall. Given the strength of the field - the best runners from 12 states in the Southeast - and the time he posted, it's probably his best race of the season. He didn't qualify for NXN in Portland, OR, as only the top 5 runners do but that notwithstanding, it was a awesome race. It was a race I think he needed, too, from a confidence standpoint.
Jude was there to see it in person, as I stayed here with Joe, who had a basketball game early Saturday morning and Rory's bar mitzvah and party later on Saturday. Today, Joe has confirmation class at St. Henry's.
I was able to watch the live results of the race on the NXR website, which posted splits at two different points on the race before the finish. At then first split, which looked like slightly over a mile, JP was in 49th place. I was disappointed until I looked at the split times and realized everyone was still bunched very closely together. Less than 10 seconds separated the leaders from where JP was running, as near as I could tell.
When the second splits were posted, I couldn't find JP. My heart dropped, as I thought he might have dropped out for some reason. I kept refreshing the feed and trying to no avail to locate among the long list of runners. At one point, I called Jude, who confirmed JP was still in the race and nearing the end.
I looked again, as finishing times began to post. Suddenly, there JP was, 9th place at 15:15! A top ten finish at NXR! Last year, he ran 15:38, so 15:15 was an improvement of more than 20 seconds. That's what I'm talking about!
I did a little research online, too, and as far as I can tell, JP set the MBA recored at NXR. Last, Jack Wallace finished in 15:17, so JP beat his time by two seconds. I'm pretty sure it's the fastest NXR time in school history.
I knew JP would be excited because his goal and been to finish in the top 20. I all honesty, I wanted him to aim higher because I thought if he ran well, he could run under 15:20. It's a tough, two lap course, too, with a big hill at the end of the race, so 15:15 is an outstanding run to be sure.
When Jude handed him her cell to talk to me, I told him he finished in the top 10 and he shouted, "YES!" I smiled as we talked and he told me about the race. He said per the plan, he ran the first part half for the race fairly conservatively then, on the last flat stretch before the final hill, he started passing runners. He thought he had passed as many as 20 runners before he got to the hill. As he approached the finish line, he was spent and one kid nipped him for 8th place.
JP executed a great race plan and finished on empty. What more can you ask?
Later in the afternoon, Jude and JP drove over to Winston-Salem, NC, so JP could tour Wake Forest University. Ella Allen is in school there, as are several MBA graduates. I'll be curious to see how the visit went, as JP continues his whirlwind college tour.
JP races at Running Lanes in Huntsville, AL, in two weeks. It's the finale of the cross country running season on a course he's run twice. Running Lanes, last December, and the Southern Showcase, earlier this year. I think he can run a sub-15, which would be awesome.
Starting line.
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